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The prefabricated under-roof construction for the heat pump installation tackles a number of challenges. The location of the outdoor unit, its noise production and the efficient deployment of technicians. A look in Twello at Loohuis Installation Group.
The prefab indak construction of the heat pump system - the so-called HydroTop - is increasingly used in situations where a ground source heat pump and a split unit are out of the question due to lack of space or noise requirements for the surroundings, which have recently been tightened up considerably. This low-noise all-in-one solution was also installed in the new construction project De Schaker in Twello. "We walk away with the system," says a satisfied projects team leader Edwin Seppenwoolde of Loohuis Installatietechnieken.
Prescribed
During the tendering process for the construction of 20 rental homes and 24 condominiums in the De Schaker project in Twello, the above-mentioned noise standard was not yet in place. Nevertheless, the clients BPD and Nikkels Projecten prescribed the HydroTop. "This was because BPD had previously had positive experiences with this system in an earlier project," says Seppenwoolde of Loohuis Installatietechnieken, who is providing the w- and e- installations in these homes.
Engineer-friendly
The installation company from Twente had no trouble prescribing this prefab system; on the contrary, the staff walks away with it after previous experiences. Seppenwoolde explains, "The installer has to do much less refrigeration work compared to a split unit. Within an hour you're done vacuuming and pressurizing the system. With an outdoor unit in the garden, it takes longer to perform the cooling operations." In addition, installers find, the piping can be nicely concealed because the connections are at the bottom of the housing. This gives the installer more working space and there is much less piping buildup visible along the unit.
Casing
All components of the heat pump are housed at the factory in a complete enclosure made of PE and is mounted as a whole in the roof. Connections for the 160mm WTW/MV grommet, 120mm cooling pipe and electrical and water connections are already in place. The installer has nothing to do with the assembly of the housing. In the design, the spar size in the roof is already determined and so HydroTopWorks mechanics can hoist and assemble the "monster" into it on schedule. A patented banana-shaped base plate can be maneuvered so that the outdoor unit is always level in the roof. In the vessel, openings for pipework have already been included, so that they can be finished in an even better way. The condensation drain is at an angle in the tank. There is also a recess for the ventilation drain. The semi-circular door in the tub gives technicians more space for installation and maintenance.
Plug and play
The installer only needs to realize the piping between the indoor and outdoor units and connect them to the buffer tank, the delivery system and possibly the ventilation box. This reduces the installation time quite a bit. The only "exciting" element is good coordination between the contractor and installer, Seppenwoolde said. According to him, the work in Twello went smoothly. "Only about the first house there was some discussion. We had to put the delivery system in the attic one day before the HydroTop was installed. The unit was on a pallet, but that was not convenient with the installation of the piping. So we developed a metal plate with adjustable legs on which the device is placed and the piping work can proceed more easily."
Dimension
The section with the built-in outdoor unit, which houses the compressor and evaporator, protrudes 15 centimeters above the roof and is sealed with an anthracite aluminum hood. In this section, the outside air is drawn in and routed to the ventilation heat pump through a MV/WTW conduit of 160mm diameter. The HydroTop when empty weighs 140 kilograms and measures 1300 x 1300 mm in the roof area. With that, the indoor unit protrudes partly inward. "Yes, then you lose part of the attic space. You can call that a disadvantage, but on the other hand you have more garden at your disposal because you don't have to put the outdoor unit there. With an extra casing because of the stricter noise requirements, you easily lose two square meters of garden. I'd rather sacrifice attic space, but that's personal," says Seppenwoolde.
The section with the built-in outdoor unit, which houses the compressor and evaporator, protrudes 15 centimeters above the roof and is sealed with an anthracite aluminum hood. In this part the outside air is sucked in and led to the ventilation heat pump through a MV/WTW transit of 160mm diameter. The HydroTop when empty weighs 140 kilograms and measures 1300 x 1300 mm in the roof area. With that, the indoor unit protrudes partly inward. "Yes, then you lose part of the attic space. You can call that a disadvantage, but on the other hand you have more garden at your disposal because you don't have to put the outdoor unit there. With an extra casing because of the stricter noise requirements, you easily lose two square meters of garden. I'd rather sacrifice attic space, but that's personal," says Seppenwoolde.
Low-noise solution
Although the tightened standard for ambient noise did not yet play a role in the new building in Twello, it is an additional advantage that the heat pump is integrated into the HydroTop. This keeps the low-noise generation system within the 45 dB limit. According to Seppenwoolde, this in-roof system also meets the requirements if a living space is created in the attic. In that case, however, it is necessary to create a separation for a landing/tech room and bedroom.
With a traditional outdoor unit on the facade or in the garden, it now regularly occurs that enclosures are needed headlong. Loohuis installation group also notices this and has to go out regularly. According to Seppenwoolde, such a casing is not an ideal solution, because such a construction creates more resistance, which means the fan has to work harder and thus the installation uses more power. Moreover, it is a relatively expensive measure. "By the way, the HydroTop is not a low-budget option with an investment of thousands of euros, but for a serial construction project it satisfies perfectly."
This text about the HydroTop indak solution was written by Marcel van Rijnbach and can be found in vakblad van installatie.nl